Download Analysis of Process by Jennifer Mick

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Jennifer Mick
Mrs. Ippensen
English 101
3 April 2014
In the Path of Destruction
Tornadoes are an unpredictable act of nature. With the studies experts have done over the
years, we have discovered great insight on how they form and we are now are able to better
prepare people by getting the warning out sooner. The process of a tornado developing is very
complex from the beginning stages of forming, to becoming a destructive wind funnel, to the
point where it finally dies down. This complex process needs the right conditions to start and
because of that, this process almost always begins as a result of a thunderstorm.
To begin this process, there has to be an unstable interaction of two different types of air.
The cold, dry air in the upper atmosphere and the warm, moist air in the lower atmosphere need
to meet (“Tornadoes”). You then need a force developed from a thunderstorm to cause instability
between these two forces of air. This force causes the warm air to go upward causing an updraft,
which then mixes with the cold air (“How a Tornado Forms”). For the conditions to be just right,
the base of the updraft needs to be close to the surface. This means that the dewpoints and
relative humidity will also be higher. After you have the right conditions for a tornado, you then
find that the tornado will begin.
The next stage of the formation of a tornado starts after all the conditions have been met
for a tornado to form. The updraft of warm air causes the thunderstorm to keep from dying out.
While it keeps the storm going, it also forces the cool heavy air to continue pushing the heavy
water droplets to fall (“How a Tornado Forms”). As the updraft fuels the storm, it also begins the
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initial spinning reaction of the air, which is known as the vertical wind sheer (“How a Tornado
Forms”). The more these winds develop and the faster they rotate, the more compact they
become (“How a Tornado Forms”). This is when the funnel cloud has initially been formed and
is reaching towards the ground. The hail and rain in the thunderstorm help push the funnel cloud
the rest of the way to the ground (“How Do Tornadoes Form?”). You now have a fully
developed tornado that is wreaking havoc on its surroundings.
The final stage of a tornado is when it finally starts to die down. The warm air that was
fueling the updraft is starting to slow down at this point. This is called the dissipation stage,
where the cold air has overtaken the warm air and there is nothing left to fuel the funnel cloud
(“How a Tornado Forms”). When this happens the air twisting and forming the tornado starts to
slow down. As the air slows, the tornado weakens and slowly starts to dissolve, pulling back up
into the clouds (Coffey, Jerry). At this time, the tornado has finally finished wrecking its
destruction.
As you can see, tornadoes are a very complex work of nature. The correct weather
conditions have to be met before they can ever start developing a funnel cloud. After the
conditions have been met, the tornado begins to cause destruction before it finally ends in the
dissipation stage. Tornadoes are a very unpredictable, complex work of nature.
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Works Cited
Coffey, Jerry. “How Do Tornadoes Form” Universe Today. Universe Today. 14 October 2010.
Web. 3 April 2014.
Haby, Jeff. “How Does A Tornado Form?” The Ultimate Weather Education Website. The
Weather Prediction. Web. 3 April 2014.
“How a Tornado Forms.” The Labor Day Tornado, Ladysmith Wisconsin. Web. 3 April 2014.
“How A Tornado Forms.” Windows to the Universe. National Earth Science Teachers
Association (NESTA). 2012. Web. 3 April 2014.
“How Do Tornadoes Form?” Kids’ Crossing. University Corporation For Atmospheric
Research. Web. 3 April 2014.
“Tornadoes.” Weather Wiz Kids. Weather Wiz Kids. 2013. Web. 3 April 2014.